Texas Pages

Having won the affection of most of the world's readers, the author now seems intent on alienating them, one by one:

Associated Press

NEW YORK — Author J.K. Rowling and the maker of the “Harry Potter” films are suing a small publisher in Michigan over its plans to release a book version of a popular Web site dedicated to the boy wizard.

The suit, filed Wednesday by the author and Warner Bros. in federal court in Manhattan, claims that RDR Books will infringe on Rowling's intellectual property rights if it goes ahead with its plan to publish the 400-page “Harry Potter Lexicon” on Nov. 28.

The Roanoke Times asks: Who says teens don't read?

Teens' books sales are up, in these times of the Playstation and Wii. Who knew?

Susan Vogel Taylor alerts us to tomorrow's first Thursday open mic at 1919 Hemphill:

"This month at 1919 the feature is the redoubtable Joaquin Zihuatanejo, award-winning teacher and spoken word artist, who is a Dallas Slam Team member, Grand Slam Champion, and Def Poetry performer.

"For those of you have never heard Joaquin, his work is poignant, funny, and socially and culturally conscious. He is a remarkable writer and performer who creates vivid images of classroom, barrio, and the harsh result of U.S. border policy.

"For more information, go to louderarts.com/poets/zihuatanejo/
and art speaks, artspeakstalent.com/artist_joaquin.html/ "

The open mic runs 8 to 9:30 p.m. Mr. Zihuatanejo is scheduled from 9:30 to 10 p.m.

$2 donation requested to support the venue. For more information, contact Rose Ann at m_rose_ann@hotmail.com For venue information go to evolve@1919hemphill.org.

The Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture is presenting Dr. Frederick Turner in a debut one-man performance of "The Undiscovered Country: Sonnets of a Wayfarer."

"Taking its first cue from Hamlet's words in the 'To be or not to be' soliloquy, 'The Undiscovered Country' explores what Fred Turner believes is a whole new mode of personal existence coming into being. Told in sonnets, Dr. Turner as the Wayfarer will bring before his audience an astonishing vision for our time-what 'the undiscovered country' might well hold in store for us.

It takes place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, with a reception at 6 p.m.
Cost is $15 for member, $20 for nonmembers, $10 for teachers and Students.

For details, call 214-871-2440.

Writer's Block is offering its Book Awards Gala on Friday and The On the Cusp Writers Conference on Saturday.

"This year's conference features more workshops, more networking, more literary professionals and authors to assist writers in expanding their skills and competencies and their knowledge about the business of writing."

Cost is $120. Registration details at the above links.

Writer's Block is a nonprofit with a vision of "Filling the world with black writers and black literature."

No, this is not the classified section.

But this note from The Writer's Garret is worth passing around:

"The award-winning North Texas literary center, The Writer's Garret, is looking for new instructors for its Writers-in-the-Schools (WITS) programs working with school children in Dallas - Fort Worth metroplex! These are part-time contract positions with a paid apprenticeship training program and competitive hourly compensation.

"Please call (214) 828-1715 for more information and to set up an interview or e-mail your interest to program@writersgarret.org, along with your resume or professional bio."

I just finished John Elder Robison's highly lauded memoir, Look Me In the Eye: My Life With Asperger's, which got a lot of pre-publication and review attention, mostly (let's be honest) because Mr. Robison happens to be the older brother of Augusten Burroughs, author of the angst-ridden (and highly entertaining) Running With Scissors and other memoirs. Mr. Robison had already left home by the time the fireworks depicted in Mr. Burroughs' books started, and frankly, his book isn't nearly as diverting or, for that matter, insightful.

I was hoping to get a real peek inside the mind of someone with Asperger's syndrome. But the book is so articulate and well-written ... well, it reads just like any other well-written memoir. I never really got that feeling of a mind that just works differently, WAY differently, from most people's, which from what I've read about Asperger's, is the whole point.

The book does have some fun bits, like when Mr. Robison describes his times on tour with the rock band KISS (he actually designed the fire-breathing guitars the band was famous for, among other sound-engineering and special-effects feats; he now has a highly successful business restoring European automobiles).

It's also frequently a hoot -- as in when, trying to save a few bucks, he convinces little brother Chris (who would later change his name to Augusten) that Cleveland was founded by a mysterious religious order, the Clevites, who do not allow shopping in any form.

All in all, though, I was disappointed. Kept waiting for it to grab me, and it never really did. Read it if you're a KISS fan, though, for sure (there are stories I couldn't even BEGIN to talk about on the blog of the family-friendly Dallas Morning News ...)

From The Associated Press:

Two aspiring romance novelists, one a 28-year-old doctorate student, the other a 56-year-old horse farmer, will have books published next year by Simon & Schuster after winning the First Chapters Romance Writing Competition.
Grand prize winner Meredith McGuire, currently working on a social science Ph.D at the University of Chicago, received a $5,000 advance for her novel “The Shadow's Kiss.” Runner-up Starr Toth, who raises horses in Ortonville, Mich., received $3,500 for “Trust Me.”

This comes from some West Coast outfit called Stanford University. I'm sure they're no University of Texas, but they are looking for entries in a writing contest, they say:

Nominations are now being accepted for the third William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. This award, given by Stanford University Libraries in partnership with the William Saroyan Foundation, recognizes newly published works of fiction and non-fiction with a $12,500 award for the winner in each category. The prize is designed to encourage new or emerging writers and honor the Saroyan literary legacy of originality, vitality and stylistic innovation. While normally biennial, this third round of the award is on a triennial schedule, having been timed to coincide with the Saroyan Centennial celebrations taking place in 2008. For entry forms and more information on the prize, including entry forms and rules, visit the Saroyan Prize website: http://library.stanford.edu/saroyan/

Entries must be received on or before January 31, 2008.

I've only read 50 or 60 comments on this affair, so I hope this isn't redundant, but. . .

Aside from the talk-show "culture warriors" and their predictable screaming, most of the Dumblegayte fire has been focused on the question of Should: Should Ms. Rowling, or any fiction writer, make ex post facto comments about characters going beyond what existed on the page? But it's worth noting that according to many tenets of literary criticism, Ms. Rowling simply can't make these comments.

Okay, okay, she can, but according to the now-old New Criticism and other schools of interpretation, her comments about the finished text are meaningless. Only what is on the page exists; her comments about Dumbledore's alleged sexual orientation change nothing because her creation is fixed and finished. If we learned that Mark Twain always thought of Pa Finn as a gentle, thoughtful guy who loved to curl up with a good book, what difference would that make--except to undermine our faith in Twain's abilities?

As for the point made by some Rowling defenders--that she was just trying to keep the movie people from creating a Dumbledore girlfriend in a future pic--that's really a matter of the contract JKR signed for the millions she reaped from Hollywood. If the contract gives her veto power over such changes, great; if not, they can make Harry a Texan and Dumbledore a hard-drinking, hard-cussing ex-Marine if they like.

Abe Books polled visitors on the 10 scariest characters in literature, and Shelf Awareness had the results:

1. Big Brother from "1984" by George Orwell
2. Hannibal Lecter from the novels by Thomas Harris
3. Pennywise the clown from It by Stephen King
4. Nurse Ratched from "One Flew Over a Cuckoo's Nest" by Ken Kesey
5. Count Dracula from Bram Stoker's novel
6. Annie Wilkes from "Misery" by Stephen King
7. The demon from "The Exorcist" by William Peter Blatty
8. Patrick Bateman from "American Psycho" by Bret Easton Ellis
9. Bill Sykes from "Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens
10. Voldemort from the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling

Got any additions? The literary side of my brain might suggest one of the "Macbeth" witches, or perfectly evil Kate from "East of Eden." The frightened-fifth-grader-who-should-never-have-lifted-the-paperback-from-his-parents'-shelf-in-1977 side of my brain might suggest that red-eyed pig from "Amityville Horror." But my analyst and I can talk about that some more next week.

For those of you who had Chris Matthews' signing Nov. 12 at the Cornerstone Speaker's Initiative marked on your calendars -- I've just been told that the event has been canceled.

Blog readers, I know what you want. Don't deny it. I counted the page views.

So let's milk one more entry out of the what's-his-name is you-know-what business.

The trend now is witty columns "outing" other fictional characters.

Here's New York magazine's version. (Fozzie Bear? Schroeder? The Flash ?("... the Flash is both light in his loafers and flaming. No, really — he runs at superhuman speed and flames literally shoot out of him."))

They admit stealing the idea from Radar. (Happy the dwarf from "Snow White?" Willy Wonka? ("The Candyman lived alone with only his (all male) Oompa Loompas.... "))

The Albany Times Union offers its own send-up. ("Few commentators touched on the significance of where Rowling chose to let the secret slip: Carnegie Hall, the site of the author's packed-house reading, holds a hallowed place in gay culture. It's the stage where gay icon Liza Minnelli recorded her landmark 1972 "Liza with a 'Z' " album and TV special. It's also where Minnelli's mother, gay icon Judy Garland, recorded her own smash 1961 live album ... .")

And Publishers Weekly offers this roundup of Dumbledore thoughts. (I think some echo our own Jeffrey Weiss.)

Lance Bass was at the Uptown Borders on Sunday -- and so was roving blog correspondent Rick Barrick:

Lance Bass, a former member of the boy band 'N Sync, takes questions Sunday evening during an interview before meeting fans to sign his book, "Out of Sync." Mr. Bass wrote about his experiences in the band and about coming out of the closet about being gay.

Mr. Bass has a word with fans.

Mr. Bass responds to a question from a fan. About 200 people waiting to meet him, as many crowding in for a closer look or a picture. Although the rules specified that Mr. Bass would only sign books, he did use a black Sharpie to sign a woman's tattooed back.

The most recent novel by one of our regular critics, William J. Cobb, is due out in paperback today.

From the archives, here's how we reviewed it:

Here's an excerpt from "Custer's Brother's Horse," by Edwin Shrake. Used by permission of John M. Hardy Publishing.

The fog coming off Shoal Creek was pouring through the prison yard in pearl-colored puffs that made him think of cannon smoke. Captain Jerod Robin lay on his back in the caliche mud with his head leaning against the south wall of the stockade. The Leatherwoods had smashed his pocket watch, but he thought it would be nearing a wet dawn if he could see the sun.

A chain around his ankle locked him to the steps of the gallows platform. Robin's ribs ached from the stomping that had been laid on yesterday evening by Santana Leatherwood and his three nephews. Massaging his sore heart with his fingertips, Robin touched the letter the nurse at the hospital in Tennessee had sewed into the lining of his butternut coat. Several buttons had been torn off the double row down the front of his coat, but the letter was safe. If the Leatherwoods had found and read the letter they would have murdered him yesterday on Pecan Street instead of beating him and throwing him into the bull pen and waiting for the judge to come and hang him to make his death what now passed for legal around here.

Here's a space to discuss the Texas Book Festival, as discussed in today's story. Will you be going? What do you think of the lineup?

Among those attending, reviewed in today's GuideLive: Edwin Shrake (see the excerpt below) and Tom Perrotta.

The Texas Book Festival has confirmed that Jim Lehrer will be able to attend this year. He'll appear 3-3:45 p.m. Sunday (Nov. 4) in the Capitol Auditorium.

(Updated: "Eureka" was the subject of this recent review.)

In addition to John Updike, you'll find the following in Sunday's GuideLive:

The Abstinence Teacher, by Tom Perrotta. Sex and God in the suburbs.

Custer’s Brother’s Horse, by Edwin Shrake. A great horse is at the center of "a terrific story" from the Texas writer.

(Both writers are headed to the Texas Book Festival next weekend. We'll be posting an excerpt from Bud Shrake's book on the blog Sunday as well. )

The Star Machine, by Jeanine Basinger. An illuminating look at Hollywood's studio system.

The Bad Girl, by Mario Vargas Llosa. "This clever novel by Peruvian-born Mario Vargas Llosa is like a dance, where patterns are repeated with only slight variations. Either The Bad Girl drives you crazy or you end up being charmed by it, if not by the girl herself."

King’s Gambit: A Son, a Father and the World’s Most Dangerous Game, by Paul Hoffman. A match for any nonfiction look at chess.

Plus Si Dunn's Texas and Southwest book roundup.

See you Sunday.

Critical Mass, the blog of the National Book Critics Circle Board of Directors, has an been offering a multi-part retrospective on John Updike this week.

To help them cap it off, here's review of "Due Considerations," written by the group's president, John Freeman, and appearing in Sunday's GuideLive.

Here's a quick look at the folks Ben Fountain was hanging with, courtesy of the Galleycat site.

Well, I think it's safe to say that Jeffrey Weiss has touched a nerve.

Just to focus in on one literary aspect of the debate: What are the other classic examples of authors who either overexplained their creations, or refused to?

The example of J.R.R. Tolkein came up in a conversation yesterday. He certainly offered a wealth of background on the world he created. But as it was pointed out to me -- he created most of that before he wrote "The Lord of the RIngs." And revealed it all in print (whether it was readable is a more subjective question.)

On the other hand, I seem to recall that Arthur Conan Doyle resented all the attention Sherlock Holmes generated. I imagine his audiences would have loved to hear him detail Holmes' grade-school years, ponder whether a demanding father caused him to be so pernsnickety and debate whether Watson was co-dependent by allowing him to use all those drugs.

To my knowledge, he never did.

The result is that a century later, a cottage industry of Sherlock Holmes biographies and further imagined adventures has sprung up.

Which may be precisely Jeff's point.

I'd like to be among the first to congratulate Ben Fountain on the latest of his literary triumphs - a 2007 Giles Whiting Award! Dallas (and Seattle) love you, Ben!

From the July 30, 2006 Dallas Morning News, here's a profile of Whiting Award winner Ben Fountain:

Dallas writer finds his muse in Haiti
Shady dealings, political intrigues inspire the works of Ben Fountain

By JEROME WEEKS
Book Critic

While compared favorably with Graham Greene, Ben Fountain says he's actually more inspired by Latin American writers, such as Gabriel García Márquez.

The first several times he went to Haiti - he's made some 30 trips to the country since 1991 - Ben Fountain liked to stay at the Hotel Olafson.

It's the old, filigreed, colonial confection made famous by Graham Greene in The Comedians, his 1966 novel of corruption and brutality under "Papa Doc" Duvalier. On the hotel's open-air balconies, with their ceiling fans and gingerbread woodwork, one can easily imagine people, over drinks, planning adulteries.

Or political murders.

Dallas author Ben Fountain has added another prestigious honor to his literary resume: A 2007 Whiting Writers Award.

The $50,000 prize is given annually to 10 “emerging writers of exceptional talent and promise.” Previous winners who went on to literary stardom include Jonathan Franzen, William T. Vollmann, Kim Edwards, Denis Johnson and Tobias Wolff.
Whiting winners are chosen by an anonymous selection committee of writers, scholars and editors. Barbara Bristol, director of the writers program at the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation, said that committee members had been “knocked out” by Mr. Fountain’s story collection, Brief Encounters With Che Guevara.

“They thought this was somebody who had a really mature, sophisticated understanding of the political world and of different global themes,” she said by phone from Vermont. “They loved that he was funny and fresh and that he created very full characters. … And if you’ve read some of the stories, I think you’ll agree. They’re very funny and very sharp.”

Brief Encounters earlier won the 2007 Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award for a distinguished first book of fiction, and Barnes & Noble honored Mr. Fountain with a “Discover Great New Writers Award.”

Reached by e-mail last week before he headed to Wednesday’s awards ceremony in New York, Mr. Fountain said: “After years of sucking wind in this business, it’s nice to be getting confirmation here and there that I’m not totally deluded in my hope of writing something worthwhile. Awards and prizes are certainly nice, but it’s as hard as ever to get the words on the page.”

His novel, The Texas Itch, is scheduled for release in 2009.

Here is the list of the other winners, as provided by the foundation:

An amusing column from the Los Angeles Times looks at the clues that should have tipped "Harry Potter" readers about the world's most famous just-outed fictional character. Among them:

"Albus Dumbledore" is an anagram for "Male bods rule, bud!"

(I don't research this stuff, folks. I am just the messenger.)

America's great ranches are going out of business at an alarming rate, devastating small communities across the American West. Photographer and filmmaker Jim Keen has chronicled 30 surviving ranches in 17 states, many of them operated for generations, in his new book Great Ranches of the West. Complete with color photos, the book tells the history of these ranches and the stories of daily life for those who live and work on them. Keen will be signing the book in Cowtown or Fort Worth at the Barnes & Noble in Sundance Square, Sunday, October 28, from 12 to 2 p.m.